June, 1920 
13!}e Slower (Brower 
99 
IIMIHIIMIIHHHHII 
Queries and Answers Department. 
“ All questions asked in good faith and which are of general interest will have careful attention. 
The full name and address of the writer must be given, but not for publication.” 
IIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIItlllllMMHIMIHIIIHtlllllHHIIIIIMIIHIIIHIIIHMMIIIHIlirt 
Sowing Gladiolus Cormels. 
List of Early Peonies. 
To the Editor 
Can you or some of your readers recommend varie- 
ties of good Peonies, and the earliest to bloom in white, 
pink, and rich red ? H. C. S. 
Answer In the lower priced Peonies 
would advise the following for their earliness 
and freedom of bloom, being varieties that 
are dependable every season : 
White : 
Festiva Maxima. Very large early white, 
flecked crimson, one of the oldest varieties, 
but as yet unsurpassed in every way. 
Duchess de Nemours. Cup shaped bloom, 
wonderfully pretty in the bud, not large, but 
very sweet sulphur white flower. 
Madame Crousse and Mons. Dupont are early 
midseason whites that might be classed as 
early Peonies. Both are fine varieties. 
Light Pink: 
Octavie Demay , Asa Gray, Eugenie Verdier. 
Fine early varieties. 
La Perle and Venus, are two midseason 
varieties of great merit. 
Deep Pink : 
Edulis Superba, very fragrant and a profuse 
bloomer. Mons. Jules Elie, glossy pink flower 
of perfect form, large and grand in every 
way. Beaute de Vitlecante, Alexandriana. 
Livingstone, is not an early Peony but too 
valuable to be overlooked. 
Rich Red : 
Richard Carvel, very early red of wonderful 
form and color. Felix Crousse, most popular 
brilliant red, free bloomer. Messonier, purple 
amaranth, called the American Beauty red. 
Madame Bucquet. Deep crimson amaranth, 
fragrant, Karl Rosenfeld, very large, deep 
brilliant crimson. Two fine midseason reds. 
Would also advise “H. C. S.” to read over 
some of the excellent articles on the Peony 
that have appeared in recent issues of The 
Flower Grower, especially January 1920 and 
August 1919. H. G. R. 
Childsi Gladioli. 
To the Editor : 
Why is it we hear no more of these ? At one time 
I exchanged other plants for the entire list of Childsi. 
I found them by far the brightest colors and largest 
blooms I have ever seen ; have had them with three 
spikes on one stem, and four or more feet high. With 
sickness in the home, they were overlooked at plant- 
ing time, and all were lost, and I have never seen 
any others, and do not see them listed. 
SARAH A. PLEAS. 
Answer : — The foundation or the original 
stock of the Childsi type of Gladioli came from 
Europe about 30 years ago, being imported by 
the old firm of V. H. Hallock & Son, Queens, 
L. I. 
About 26 years ago Mr. John Lewis Childs 
bought out the stock, since which time hun- 
dreds and thousands of seedlings have been 
produced, and many of them named, and I 
think still compare favorably with many of 
modern or present day seedlings; and the fact 
that some of them are among the standard 
varieties in commerce, is proof of their supe- 
rior quality. Some of them are Columbia, 
Mrs. Beecher, Nezinscott, Prince of India, Scribe, 
Wm. Falconer, Wild Rose, etc. 
From all indications it seems to me that 
many seedlings being produced today by va- 
rious growers have a good proportion of what 
we might call "Original Childsi Blood” in 
them. The type is noted for extra large wide 
open flowers. 
I. S. Hendrickson. 
To the Editor 
In The Flower'Grower for February on page 22, 
Henry Madtes under “Growing Cormels,” says: 
“ Sow thickly and evenly in a well cultivated flat 
bottomed trench ten inches wide and three inches 
deep.” 
What is meant by “thickly?” Should one sow 
them about one to the square inch or so they will 
nearly touch ? My space is limited and I want to 
plant 7000 or 8000 cormels. Would they do as well 
if the trench was twenty or twenty-four inches wide, 
or in other words, planted in a narrow bed ? A. F. A. 
A nswer:— Cormels should be sown so that 
they cover the bottom of a flat bottom trench. 
This is what is meant by sowing thickly. 
You will find that 7000 or 8000 cormels will 
not occupy very much space and we would be 
inclined to advise against planting in a row 
wider than 5 or 6 inches. 3 or 4 inches is 
the common practice. 
Dis-budding Gladioli. 
To the Editor : - 
If planting stock is not allowed to bloom should the 
blossom stem be broken off as soon as it appears or 
should it be allowed to grow a while? A. F. A. 
Answer: — My personal opinion is that it 
makes little difference in dis budding whether 
the bloom is broken off as soon as it appears 
or whether it is allowed to mature to the ex- 
tent of opening one flower. The main loss to 
the bulb is when the flower matures on the 
stalk and begins to form seeds. However, if 
the bloom is not wanted I would recommend 
dis-budding as soon as the buds appear. 
Madison Cooper. 
Renovating Old Potting Soil. 
To the Editor :— 
How can a small florist, with a limited amount of 
land, renew his potting soil from year to year? Some 
soil is purchased each year, but he wants to renew 
old, spent soil by spreading on a lot and growing 
some legume crop. How should he do this to best 
advantage? E. M. 
Answer:— How can a small florist renew 
his potting soil— or rather the life of the 
soil, so that it can be used a second, and 
possibly a third and fourth time without the 
expense of purchasing new soil, is quite a 
question. We have never given this matter 
serious thought, as we have plenty of soil to 
allow all old, partially exhausted soil plenty 
of time to recuperate, by simply placing it 
where it will be used for a few years to 
produce general farm crops. It has often 
appeared to me that probably as good crops 
could be grown several seasons in succes- 
sion where the soil has not been renewed as 
where it is renewed for every crop. Last 
Spring I was in a Rose house that had one of 
the finest crops of Roses coming on for Easter 
that I have ever seen. The plants were in 
the same soil for 14 years. This grower has 
probably taken more prizes at flower shows 
in the last ten years than any other grower in 
the Philadelphia district. 
All commercial Roses at present are al- 
lowed to remain in the same soil, without 
any renewal, either of soil or stock, for from 
four to seven years, and we never hear of 
soil exhaustion. I have read of wonderful 
crops of Carnations being grown in the same 
soil for five or six years in succession. We 
grow Carnations — a little better than some 
that I have seen, though not nearly as good 
as a lot of others that I have looked over. 
We have experimented with soil that was 
in the houses a number of years, and new 
soil taken in the house especially for the 
crop, with the result that experts, later in 
the season could not determine which was 
the old or the new. It is generally conceded 
that there is less danger of loss to the crop 
when the soil is renewed. 
We have been growing Sweet Peas in the 
same soil for five or six years, and do not 
see any necessity for renewing it for some 
time to come. If proper care is taken to 
have the fertilizers complete and plenty of 
humus is added, with sufficient lime to cor- 
rect acidity, there should be no trouble in 
using the same soil several years in succes- 
sion, even on a bench. If fertilizer that is 
not complete is used continuously, trouble 
will be encountered eventually. Some florists 
use nothing but tankage, while others use 
nothing but bone meal. This practice will 
soon create a great deficiency of potash. 
Soil that is apparently worn out could be 
greatly benefited by spreading about the 
depth of an ordinary plow furrow, and if in 
the Spring get a good heavy crop of Canada 
field peas and oats started as early as pos- 
sible. Plow this crop under the end of May 
and seed to Soy beans. The end of August 
plow the beans, apply a ton of lime to the acre, 
or more if the soil is rather acid, and seed 
to rye and Hairy or Winter vetch. Your 
plot will likely be small and the expense of 
seed will not be very much even if you were 
to use double the quantity the farmer would 
use on the same area. Try to get a good 
stand each time you sow a crop, especially 
the vetch and rye. This soil should be in 
good shape to use the following season, un- 
less it is very badly exhausted, in which case 
give it the same treatment the following sea- 
son. 
Where so much humus is incorporated in 
the soil quite a lot of lime will be needed to 
overcome the acidity this decaying vegetable 
matter will develop. A mixture of raw bone 
and potash would be beneficial before the 
soil is used, though not in very large quanti- 
ties. Better apply such concentrated fer- 
tilizer soon as the plants start growth, and 
stir the soil slightly before watering. — Elmer 
J. Weaver in Rural New Yorker. 
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitniiiiiiiiiiiiimiJiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiMi 
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING. 
Five lines (about 40 words) £1.00 per insertion. Ad- 
ditional lines 15c. each. 
GLADIOLI 
1Y/TIXED GLADIOLI — First-class stock; no culls, 
t’t Postpaid. Best mixture, large flowering, exhi- 
bition, $1 a doz. Gold Medal Mixture— light shades 
for cutting, 75c. Silver Medal Mixture- mostly light, 
some red, 60c. Thomas M. Proctor, South Street. 
Wrentham, Mass. 
PAST HARTFORD GLADIOLUS CO.-Our 1920 
catalogue of Dahlias and Gladioli for the asking. 
E. M. Smith, Pres. & Mgr., 65 Olmsted Street, 
East Hartford, Conn. 
IRISES 
T IBERTY IRIS— Best varieties for garden or cutting. 
Write for special trade prices for fall 1920. 
N. A. Hallauer, Ontario, N. Y. 
pHOICEST of Iris at Rose Acre Farm— Quality and 
w price right — Come and see them. 
F. Wentink, Salisbury Mills, N. Y. 
MISCELLANEOUS 
T ANDSCAPE GARDENING— A practical course by 
- L 'mail. Colored illustrations. Beautify Home 
Grounds. Endorsed by leading Nurserymen and 
Florists. Write for Prospectus. American Land- 
scape School, 2 N, Newark. N. Y. 
T ABELS— Patent, paper, trees, shrub or rose label. 
■*-' Colors: white, green, blue and salmon. Plain or 
printed. A cure for those afflicted with label troubles. 
Samples. Ohio Nursery Co.. Elyria, Ohio. 
■QEGONIA RADICAN roots. $15 per 100, postpaid. 
Yellow Day Lilies, $15 per 100. 
K. Albert, Box 90, Montgomery, Ind. 
